There is substantial demand for furniture which is adorned with various patterns which provide furniture pieces with a familiar antique style, if not an actual antique finish. While for many people actual antiques are highly prized and desirable, such pieces are frequently expensive and not necessarily suitable for day to day use because of time induced wear and tear and because additional wear and tear can reduce the value of the piece.
Since actual antiques can be extremely expensive and selected antique items are often unavailable, there has arisen a market for new furniture and furnishing which may have the appearance of substantial age. When manufactured and finished with skill, these "new" antiques are highly prized by the knowledgeable public and are relatively expensive.
In authentic, expensive antique furnishings with bas-relief decoration bas-relief designs are formed on the surface by carving and planing. In other antiques, bas-relief is formed by gluing or nailing decorative designs to panels, and in still other less expensive antique reproductions bas-relief is provided by gluing molded plaster decorations to the piece.
Generally, when making furniture pieces with bas-relief designs, there is a need for a relatively inexpensive process which will withstand passage of time as well as wear and tear due to use, yet appears to even a practiced eye to be carved into the wood.